


Joy Can Be Built On Ruins

by iamthefacebehindthemask



Series: Kageyama Rare Pair Week 2 [6]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Advisor Tsukishima Kei, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Getting Together, King Kageyama Tobio, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 21:28:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9346604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamthefacebehindthemask/pseuds/iamthefacebehindthemask
Summary: This work is for Kageyama Rare Pair Week 2, Day 6.Prompts: Saviour | FoeBonus: Defeat





	

“You were the chief advisor in the old empire, weren’t you?”

Kei looked up at the prison guard talking to him. He lowered his eyes once more and nodded meekly. The doors of his cubicle opened, and the guard said, “Go on. His Majesty has requested your presence.”

_Mine…?_

Without voicing any doubts, Kei followed the guard out of the dungeons and into a relatively well-furnished room.

“These are the servant quarters; you can bathe here and change into the robes sent for you. One of the servants will take you to the king’s study after you are done.”

Kei showered quickly, not minding the cold water at all (any water was surely better than none). Once he had changed into the clean robes, a chambermaid led him upstairs to the main section of the palace. He noted the simplicity in decoration, despite it being the habitat of royalty, and wondered what that meant.

A voice shook him out of his reverie.

“His Majesty will see you now." 

* * *

Kei didn’t know how to feel. His meeting with the king had been strange.

_“I hate to admit it, but one of the reasons the conquest of the old empire took so long was because of the incredible strategy in place for the army. I have since been informed that you had formulated the tactic that prevented their fall for so many months.”_

_“Yes, Your Majesty.”_

_“But, an incompetent king cannot survive, no matter how good his advisors are if he doesn’t change his ways. He was practically inviting conquest by the time my army was at the boundary of his kingdom.”_

_“Yes, Your Majesty.”_

_“Nevertheless, bright minds should not be permitted to simply rot away in the dungeons, unless they choose to. I am offering you the position of my chief advisor; if you want it, it is yours.”_

Kei had asked for time to contemplate his options, then, and the king had scowled momentarily but relented.

The young advisor knew that the pros outnumbered the cons: he agreed with the king on several aspects, including the incompetency of the old king; he wouldn’t have to change his profession; and if he refused, he would spend the rest of his life locked up in the dungeons, probably get hired to do manual labor like some of the other prisoners because of his height. Kei was certainly not royalty, but he was still a member of the elite class, and he knew that manual labor was simply a faster route to certain death, in his case.

Moreover, the king was young, probably no older than Kei himself, and he had earned Kei’s respect by not only annexing such a strong empire but also by treating the prisoners he had acquired in war better than most rulers did. As far as Kei could tell, he was not only a competent but also a compassionate ruler.

The only con he could think of was that incompetent or not, his loyalties lay with the old king, and it was going to be difficult to serve someone else after years of serving as an advisor to him. 

Nevertheless, he went back the next morning and accepted the offer.

* * *

After that, things started changing very quickly around Kei. He was released from the prison in the dungeons and given a very lavish room to stay in. Since all of his belongings had been seized during the war, the king instructed the court tailor to sew an entirely new wardrobe for the advisor. His quick thinking and wit gradually earned him the respect of his fellow courtiers.

And, perhaps most importantly, he always ate breakfast with the king. 

The head chef had patiently explained, upon his asking, that the king’s old advisor always ate breakfast with him because it was the first meal of the day, giving them an opportunity to speak in private, and thus giving the king a chance to ask for advice in confidence.

“But”, he had added, wistfully, “The courtiers wonder that it might also be something he does because he gets lonely from time to time. As you are aware, His Majesty was only a little boy when he lost his parents, quite suddenly, too, and his duties keep him too busy to court anyone. Or, I guess you could say he hasn’t ever shown an interest in anyone enough to want to court them.”

This piece of information surprised Kei; most rulers were either courting a potential partner or were already married at the age that the king was.

Kei also got to observe the king during the musical performances held in the court once a week. He gathered that the ruler liked to encourage learning and performing music, and was the greatest patron in the land, too. Sometimes, while the king would listen to music, he would look sad, almost remorseful.

_Like he was lonely._

Kei proved to be such a commendable advisor that the king decided to take him on his trips around the kingdom. The opportunities that they had to speak about more personal matters gave rise to a camaraderie unlike any other, as the two of them found they were similar in many ways. The courtiers and servants of the king, who had witnessed the king’s years of isolation, were delighted that he had finally met someone he could call a friend. This led to them treating Kei better than ever; the head chef would send over some food for him whenever he would work long hours, the maids would put the best flowers in the vase in his room (not that he knew they were the best), and other courtiers would occasionally bring gifts for him on their trips.

Kei had also realized, over the course of time, that even though the land and the people he had sworn his life to had been conquered and forced to surrender, he hadn’t shown signs of surrender himself, in all his interactions with the king. He had been able to look him in the eye, without any signs of submission.

Maybe that was why his relationship with the king felt more like that of equals (as friends), rather than that of subornation (as employer and employee). He had won the king’s respect by holding his head up high.

* * *

One morning, Kei woke up at the crack of dawn and, unable to go back to sleep, decided to get ready for the day. Walking down the hallways of the palace, he spotted the king sitting in front of his chessboard in the royal garden from the window.

As he approached the king, he made his presence known by asking, “Would you mind if I joined you, Your Majesty?” 

“You may, Tsukishima. What are we playing for today?”

“Whatever pleases you, Your Majesty.”

The king considered his options for a moment, before declaring, “If I win this game, you will henceforth refer to me by my given name, as friends should.”

Kei was stunned into silence; he had intended to set conditions for winners and losers like they always did, and it seemed like the king was changing the game completely. His breath hitched.

“Well, then, if you win, and I refer to you by your given name, then you should also refer to me by my given name since friendship is an equal bond, Your Majesty.”

“Very well. I accept your conditions.”

Kei thought he felt the ground shift under his feet. It was his move.

Needless to say, the king won. He looked at Kei expectantly.

“T-Tobio…”

“Kei.”

They both flushed, hearing their given names spoken by the other. Kei could hear his heart pounding and could feel his cheeks turning red, and he had never been more grateful for the absence of all servants, including the butler who was constantly at the king’s side. 

There was a new light of determination on the king’s- no, _Tobio’s_ face. He knelt down in front of Kei, alarming the latter. 

“Your Majesty, what- “

“Kei, may I have the utmost honor of courting you?”

The young advisor was astonished beyond belief. He bit his cheek, and the stinging pain informed him that yes, this moment was indeed happening. Tobio waited for his response on his knee, blue eyes brighter than Kei had ever seen them. He knew what he had to, or rather, what he wanted to do.

“Yes, Tobio.”

As Tobio extended a hand to Kei in order to pull him up and out of his chair, Kei realized that some kinds of defeat were absolutely worth the consequences.

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like creating an independent series for this AU now...
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and all your kudos and comments are greatly appreciated!


End file.
